With 5 ODI World Cups and 2 Champions Trophies, the hunt for a T20 World Title continued as Australia entered the 2021 T20 World Cup scheduled in UAE. They did pull off a victory over New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup and marched victorious, claiming their first glory in T20 cricket. The ten moments that helped Australia their first title is as follows:
1. The Warner Factor
Speaking of Australia’s glory in the 2021 T20 World Cup, how can anyone deny this man’s contribution? David Warner scored 236 runs at an average of 59.50 and at an alarming strike rate of 148.42. He ended the tournament as the “MAN OF THE SERIES” for his contributions towards the Australian side. The story of Warner turns out to be very interesting because he did not cross purposes with his IPL team Sunrises Hyderabad and was denied from being a part of the team. He then entered the T20 World Cup with two consecutive duck outs in the warm-up matches, but he had made his mind up to contribute to his country, and the rest is history.
2. The Marsh Magic
With five consecutive T20 series losses, Australia entered the World Cup as the underdogs. The main reason for the losses turned out to be the poor form of the top three batsmen. During the tour to West Indies, Australia promoted Mitchell Marsh to number 3, and he gave them results by scoring 51, 54, 9, 75 and 30 in the five- match, T20 series. He had cemented his place as a decent number three batsman who can bowl a few overs. Though, Marsh did not score as many runs as he would have liked his contribution in the final turned out to be very essential. With a score of 77*, Marsh helped the Aussies cross the line against the Black Caps, and he ended up being ‘PLAYER OF THE MATCH.’
3. Spin Wizard Zampa
During the initial stages of his career, Adam Zampa faced criticism for bowling too short, too flat, and leaking plenty of runs, but his performances in the T20 World Cup turned out to be bizarre. With 13 wickets in 7 games, including a five wicket haul against Bangladesh, Zampa was hardly playable. His economy of 6.04 turned out to be the best among spinners in the World Cup. The control by Zampa in the middle overs helped the Australian pacers in the back end of the innings.
4. Wade Finish
Matthew Wade was hardly given chances to bat throughout the group stage of the tournament because of the dominance of the middle order but his innings in the semi-final against Pakistan overshadowed the performance of David Warner in that game who scored 49 of 30 balls. Coming into bat at 7, Australia needed 74 runs from 43 deliveries, and everyone had ruled the Aussies out of the game. In such a situation, Wade scored 41 off 17 balls with three consecutive sixes against Pakistan’s ace for pace Shaheen Afridi. Those three sixes did seal the game for Australia.
5. Hazardous Hazle
Coming from a victorious IPL campaign with the Chennai Super Kings, Josh Hazlewood was filled with belief as his contribution was critical for CSK’s success. He carried the belief into the T20 World Cup and contributed to Australia’s success. With 11 wickets in 7 games, Hazlewood was the pick among the pacers for Australia.
6. Fearsome Fielding
As the saying goes, ‘Catches win Matches’, Australia’s fielding turned out to be a major talking point as the Aussies were fearsome on the field. Steve Smith turned out to be the joint highest among catches taken, and Matthew Wade topped the list for the most dismissals from behind the stumps. Aussies always set their standards with regards to fielding, don’t they?
7. Experienced Campaigners
Experience plays a major role in the game of cricket, the ability to react, and succeed in tough situations comes only through experience. The average age of the Australian team turns out to be 29.40, which is staggering for T20 internationals.
8. Fearless Finch
A ship cannot sail through the sea without a proper captain, and so does a cricket team. Aaron Finch took over the Australian side ever since the sandpaper incident, which led to the dismissal of Steve Smith and David Warner. Indeed it was a long journey, and Finch will go down in the history books as the first Australian captain to have lifted the coveted T20 World Cup.
9. The JL Trust
The former Australian legend Justin Langer was appointed as the head coach of the Australian cricket team in the year 2018. After the heartbreaking defeat to India at the Gabba, Australian fans wished for the sacking of Justin Langer still, the Australian Cricket Board backed the former opening batsman, and Langer proved himself by claiming the 2021 T20 World Cup.
10. The Hunger for Glory
Australia had not won a single T20 World Cup in their history. The Aussies dominated T20 cricket with their performances, but they could never win a world title. The hunger to win the title helped the Aussies to perform and win the World Cup.
